The Slowboat Icarus Ascending was launched from Earth, slowly boosting away from the conflict and chaos of post-Singularity Earth on a pillar of pulsed nuclear explosions across 21 lonely light-years and a century of subjective time for its passengers. Unlike many of its sister ships, the long journey passed without serious incident, and the Icarus commenced braking manoeuvres six months before arrival at Gliese 581. The key crew members were revived to prepare for colonisation.
The mission still faces many dangers; the starship is old, and under the stress of its drive’s atomic explosions; the key colonisation equipment was new, unproven technology when Icarus left Earth; the challenges of establishing a new colony and society around a red dwarf star with only the resources and personnel carried on the ship or exploited locally.
And finally, initial sensor surveys suggest that the best candidate world in the system may – in fact – be already inhabited.
By Humanity.
From Earth.